Abstract

Blunt traumatic intraperitoneal bladder rupture is usually treated by surgical repair. We report a patient with intraperitoneal bladder rupture secondary to blunt abdominal trauma that responded to non-operative conservative management using a transurethral catheter. A 58-year-old woman was admitted to our Department of Internal Medicine complaining of lower abdominal pain and urinary retention after drinking alcohol. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed collection of fluid in the abdominal cavity and fresh blood clots in the bladder. At 2 days after admission, she was moved from the Department of Internal Medicine to Urology. Cystoscopy revealed an old hematoma in the bladder. She complained of abdominal pain when the Foley catheter was removed. At 3 days after admission, cystoscopy revealed a small tear at the bladder dome, which led to a definitive diagnosis of intraperitoneal bladder rupture. At 4 days after admission, a CT scan detected only a small amount of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Conservative therapy was continued because urine could be constantly drained. At 2 weeks after admission, the bladder rupture had healed.